Liverpool host their first Anfield Iftar event as 2,800 people from across the city break their Ramadan fast inside the famous stadium

Liverpool hosted their first Iftar event at Anfield on Sunday evening with 2,800 people from diverse communities across the Liverpool City Region coming together to break their fast inside the stadium.

The 'Share Ramadan' event was organised by the club's official charity, LFC Foundation, in conjunction with Liverpool Region Mosque Network with a range of local speakers including MP Ian Byrne, co-founder of the Fans Supporting Foodbanks initiative, and British boxer Natasha Jonas.

'Without the melting pot that the city of Liverpool is, none of us would be where we are now. It's something I grew up around in Toxteth, said Jonas. 

'The mixture of cultures that we have and our togetherness and solidarity is emulated in events like this where everybody is welcome, regardless of their faith,' the two-weight world champion added.

LFC Foundation CEO, Matt Parish, said: 'This is one of the most diverse cities in the UK and the football clubs are a huge part of that. 

'We're not the first football club to do it but because we're Liverpool FC, we wanted to do it as best as we could and do it properly. It's been a few years in the making and it's beautiful.'

Last year, Chelsea became the first Premier League club to hold an Iftar event while the last few weeks have seen pauses in matches up and down the country, in line with PGMOL's guidance to officials to allow Muslim players to break their fast, when there is a natural stoppage in play.

On Thursday, Ibrahima Konate acknowledged the Anfield crowd after breaking his fast in the middle of Liverpool's win over Sheffield United.

Rishi Jain, director of impact at LFC, said: 'I'm emotional and proud. The events of the past week have shown what this football club is all about. 

'We had Konate applauding The Kop after breaking his fast and vice versa. I felt goosebumps. And this is another milestone moment in the history of this football club. 

'We were the first football club to be involved in the UK Pride March back in 2012 and we still talk about that now. I believe that we will talk about this Iftar event as we do with all the other milestones in our history.'

The LFC Foundation has worked alongside Liverpool Region Mosque Network for five years, helping to tackle food poverty and supporting local people and families struggling with the cost-of-living crisis during Eid and Christmas by providing food boxes.